Shubman Gill’s Captaincy Journey Begins With ODI World Cup Ambitions

India's new ODI captain Shubman Gill has his eyes on leading his country to World Cup glory.

Rohit Sharma, who was replaced as Test captain by Gill following his retirement from red-ball cricket earlier this year, had held captaincy in the one-day format.

Rohit was India's ODI captain from December 2021, leading them in 56 matches and winning 42 of those. 

He led India to the 2023 World Cup final and also won the Asia Cup that same year, along with the 2025 Champions Trophy.

However, India's selection panel has opted to bring Gill into the role two years ahead of the next 50-over World Cup, to give him a chance to settle in before heading to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in 2027.

Gill now holds formal leadership roles in all three formats, as he is also vice-captain of the T20I side.

"It's the biggest honour to be able to lead your country in the one day, and to be able to lead a side that has done so well. It's an immense pride for me, and I hope I'll be able to do great," Gill said.

"I think we have about 20 ODIs before we play the World Cup, and the ultimate goal is the World Cup in South Africa.

"Everything that we play and all the players that we play, we're going to try our best to be able to have a great season before we get to the World Cup, and hopefully we'll be fully ready when we go to South Africa and win that World Cup."

In his maiden Test series as captain, Gill led India to a 2-2 draw with England, finishing as the highest run-scorer with 754 runs across his 10 innings.

His first ODIs at the helm see India travel to Australia for a three-game series on October 19, 23 and 25.

Rohit and Virat Kohli, who also retired from Test cricket earlier this year, have both been named in the squad for the matches against Australia, with the duo set to make their first appearances in more than seven months.